Not Applicable
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to a mechanism used in the manufacture of chairs. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a retainer plate for nuts that are used to connect a chair back support to a tilt mechanism for the chair.
Chairs, particularly office-type chairs, typically have both a seat and a back. The seat and back may be coupled to a chair tilt mechanism. The tilt mechanism controls the tilting of the chair seat and chair back. The seat and back may tilt together, or may tilt relative to one another. The back of the chair is connected to the tilt mechanism, as is the seat, so that, as forces are applied to the back and seat, the chair tilt mechanism allows the back and seat to move or tilt.
Typically, the chair back is coupled to the tilt mechanism using a rigid, J-shaped structure. This structure is known in the industry as a xe2x80x9cJ-back.xe2x80x9d The longer part of the xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d is coupled to the back of the chair. The shorter part of the xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d is coupled to the tilt mechanism. Presently, the J-back is bolted to the tilt mechanism using a number of bolts and nuts. In the assembly process, the act of bolting the J-back to the tilt mechanism is somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming. The reason for this, stems from the nature of aligning the nuts, bolts and clearance holes in the tilt mechanism.
Therefore, a mechanism is needed that allows an efficient and less cumbersome attachment of the J-back to the tilt mechanism.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism that allows and efficient attachment of a J-back to a tilt mechanism of a chair.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects are obtained by a retaining plate for use in the assembly of a chair to couple a J-back to a tilt mechanism. The J-back is provided with a number of mounting holes. Similarly, the tilt mechanism is provided with a number mounting holes that can be aligned with the mounting holes in the J-back. The retaining plate has a number of mounting holes disposed therethrough that are located to align with the mounting holes of the J-back and the tilt mechanism. The plate also includes a nut-retaining wall that is formed around the mounting holes and that is dimensioned to hold a threaded nut. The plate has a mechanism that is used to couple the plate to the tilt mechanism. In use, nuts may be placed within and held by the nut-retaining wall, and the plate may be coupled to the tilt mechanism so that the J-back may be coupled to the tilt mechanism by threading bolts into the nuts, the nuts being held in place by the nut-retaining walls.
Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.